Pakistan rejects proposal to import Indian cotton

In a major dramatic twist in India-Pakistan relations once again, Pakistan's Federal Cabinet on Thursday rejected the Economic Co-ordination Committee's proposal to import cotton from India, reports senior correspondent Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi: Pakistan's Federal Cabinet rejected Economic Co-ordination Committee's proposal to import cotton from India on Thursday. This comes a day after the Pakistan government on Wednesday approved the resumption of trade ties with India, which is seen as a major move towards reviving the relations with India.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Imran Khan-led government's decision to import cotton and Yarn from India is facing criticisms from opposition leaders and also journalists in the nation. Moreover, Pakistan's Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that there will be "no trade with India until it reverses the decision on Article 370”.

Opposition leaders have been holding press conference expressing concern over the decision and have condemned the move by Pakistan to resume trade ties with India.

Pakistan had snapped ties with India ever since the nullification of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the division of the erstwhile state into two new Union Territories in August 2019.

In a major shift in diplomatic policy, on Wednesday, Pakistan's cabinet committee on economic affairs gave its nod to importing cotton from India till June 30, 2021, and approval for sugar imports is also expected soon.

Although there is no such official response from the Indian side on the matter, it remains to be seen what India’s stand would be, as so far, it has only shown flaccid interest in Pakistan’s proposal to resume trade ties with India.

However, an official announcement from the Indian side on this matter is expected tomorrow ( Friday).

The India-Pakistan ties have been the talk of the town and had received global attention. Ties between India and Pakistan took an ugly turn ever since the Pulwama attack and not to forget the scrapping of Article 370 in Kashmir, which took both countries to the brink of war. It caught the attention of the international community to an extent that all the major powers had called for de-escalation and end of hostilities, as every country in the world is suspicious of the desolation a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours can cause to the global community.

India has time and again maintained that it desires a normal neighbourly relation with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. However, India highlighted that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of violence and hostility.

India has also clearly pointed out to Pakistan several times that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand and asked Pakistan several times to take action against terror groups for launching terror attacks against India.

Over the last few months, subsequent events have taken place that shows a sign of easing of relations between the two of South Asia’s nuclear-armed neighbours- India and Pakistan. From the agreement between the DGMO’s of Pak and India to revive the 2003 cease-fire agreement along the LOC in Kashmir to the Indus water sharing talk between Indus Commissioner of India and Pakistan, meeting of the foreign leaders in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, Pakistan has expressed high hopes of improvement in bilateral relations. However, despite the hype, there is a need for India to do a reality check.

India has welcomed the peace overture by Pakistan but many experts had suggested that India should make a cautious move when it comes to Pakistan as this attempt by Pakistan to talk peace can be another tactical ploy.